In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion
Deep Water Discoveries Marked Year
What a year it was.
When the final year of the 1990s opened, the price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was $12.33 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Stock Exchange.
As the year ended, the price per barrel had more than doubled, staying above $20 a barrel for most of the latter half of 1999. Average price for 1999 was $18.74.
Please log in to read the full article
What a year it was.
When the final year of the 1990s opened, the price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was $12.33 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Stock Exchange.
As the year ended, the price per barrel had more than doubled, staying above $20 a barrel for most of the latter half of 1999. Average price for 1999 was $18.74.
With a laggardly start to the year and prices muddling below $20 until about July, exploration activity was spotty at best. The awaited approvals of the mergers of Exxon/Mobil and BP/Amoco/Arco added even more uncertainty to the business climate through the year.
But price conquers all and on July 1 the future looked brighter. Budgets were re-adjusted at about mid-year ? and a flurry of activity was reported in the last quarter of the millennium.
Meanwhile, the list of discoveries internationally continued to grow.
Listed here are selected major discoveries of 1999 as compiled by the IHS Energy Group's International Oil Letter.
This geographical list includes operator, well name, basin and production reports.
South America
Argentina
-
PASJ, Blanco Olivos Oriental 1, Northeast Platform, land, gas, 4,900 Mscf/d.
-
PASJ, Anticlinal Viejo 1, Neuquen Embaym., land, oil, Aggr. 2,384 Bo/d.
-
PASJ, Anticlinal de Maria 1, Neuquen Embaym., land, oil & gas, up to 1,447 Bo/d & 57,972 Mscf/d.
-
PASJ, Anti. De Maria Oriental 1, Northeast Platform, land, oil, 2,416 Bo/d.
-
Total, Unicomio 1, Austral, Shelf, gas, 13,000 Mscf/d.
-
PASJ, Cerro Solo (Rio Negro) 1, Neuquen Embaym., land, oil, late 574 Bo/d.
-
PASJ, Cerro Norte 29, Austral, land, gas, 3,000 Mscf/d.
-
PASJ, Estancia El Colorado 1, Northeast Platform, land, gas, 25,194 Mscf/d.
-
PASJ, El Latigo 1, Northeast Platform, land, oil & gas, 4,227 Bo/d & 1,610 Mscf/d.
-
Total, Aguada San Roque 104, Neuquen Embaym., land, gas, 42,000 Mscf/d & 1,673 bc/d.
-
PASJ, Estancia dos Lagunas 1, Austral, land, gas, 3,550 Mscf/d.
-
Perez Companc, Estancia El Chiripa 1, Austral, land, gas, 1,977 Mscf/d.
-
Shell, Valle Morado 1001st, Tarija, land, gas & condensate, 40,960 Mscf/d & 170 bc/d.
-
Sipetrol, CAM-1, Austral, Shelf, gas & condensate, 15,242 Mscf/d & 145 bc/d.
-
Sipetrol, CAM-1A, Austral, Shelf, oil & gas, 2,119 Bo/d, 636.7 Mscf/d.
-
YPF, Loma Campana 1, Neuquen, land, gas, 2,040 scf/d.
-
PASJ, Oceano 41, Austral Basin, land, oil & gas, 909 Bo/d & 12,000 Mscf/d.
Boliva
-
Vintage, Naranjillos X-104, Chaco Foothill Belt, land, gas & condensate, 5,000 Mscf/d & 150 bc/d.
-
YPFB, San Alberto X-9, Chaco Sub-And., land, gas & condensate, 23,000 Mscf/d & 410 bc/d.
-
Pluspetrl, Huayco Sur X-1001, Chaco Sub-And., land, gas, up to 8,500 Mscf/d.
-
Ambas, El Dorado X-1001, Chaco Basin, land, gas, 20,000 Mscf/d.
Brazil
-
Petrobras, 1-RUT-001-AM, Amazonas, land, gas & condensate, 17,600 Mscf/d & 239 bc/d.
-
Petrobras, 1-ESS-89A, Espirito Santo, Shelf, gas, 21,200 Mscf/d.
Colombia
-
Emerald, Gigante 1A, Upper
-
Magdalena, land, oil, 3,000 Bo/d.
Far East
China
- COOBC, Bozhong 25-1 5, Bohai, offshore, oil, 2,352 Bo/d.
- CONHW, Weizhou 12-1 5, Beibu, offshore, oil & gas, 7,089 Bo/d & 4.6 MMscf/d.
- Sinopec, Yancan 1, Yanfu, land, gas, 3,531 MMscf/d.
- Phillips, Penglai 19-3 2, Bohai, offshore, oil, >1,600 Bo/d.
- Phillips, Penglai 19-3 4, Bobai, offshore, oil, 1,040 Bo/d.
India
- Shell, Guda 2, Rajasthan, land, oil, 2,000 Bo/d.
Indonesia
- Caltx, Piala 1, Central Sumatra, land, oil, 1321 Bo/d.
- Conoco, Belut North 3, Natuna Sea, offshore, gas & condensate, 60.9 MMscf/d & 3,656 bc/d.
- Coparex, Rembang 1, East Java, land, gas, 19.1 MMscf/d.
- Gulf Res, Durian Mabok 2, South Sumatra, land, gas, 26.3 MMscf/d.
- Gulf Res, Suban 3, South Sumatra, land, gas & condensate, 27.4 MMscf/d & 190 bc/d.
- Gulf Res, Teluk Rendah 2, South Sumatra, land, gas, 15.2 MMscf/d.
- Mobil, Pase A9, North Sumatra, land, gas, 17 MMscf/d.
- Pertamina, Petanang 1, South Sumatra, land, oil, gas & condensate, 1,727 Bo/d, 7.69 MMcf/d, & 244 bc/d.
- Pertamina, Rengan Condong 1, South Sumatra, land, gas, 2.1 MMscf/d.
Middle East
Iran
- NIOC, Changuleh 2, Zagros, land, oil, 5,000-6,000 Bo/d.
- NIOC, Nir Kabir 1, Zagros, land, oil, 4,000-5,000 Bo/d.
Israel
- Samedan, Noa 1, Nile Delta, offshore, gas, 11.5-30 MMscf/d.
Kuwait
- Exxon, Kra al Maru 2, Arabian, land, oil, 1,800 Bo/d.
Oman
- PDO, Ghafeer 1, South Oman, land, oil, 6,500 Bo/d.
Syria
- SPC, Abu Zhour 2, Palmyrides, land, gas, 35 MMcf/d.
- SPC, Kishma 1, Euphrates Graben, land, oil, , 5,000 Bo/d.
Pacific Rim
Australia
- Apache, Vincent 1, Carnarvon, offshore, oil & gas, 4,301 Bo/d & 1.9 MMcfg/d.
- Santos, Raven 1, Cooper, onshore, gas condensate, 9,110 Mcfgd &165 Bcp/d.
- Santos, Touriga 1, Cooper, onshore, gas, 5,400 MCFD.
- Wapet, (Obiwan) Barrow Island - Z56M, Carnarvon, onshore, oil, 1,000 Bo/d.
- Apache, Sage 1, Carnarvon, offshore, oil, 2,155 Bo/d.
- Woodside, Enfield 1, Carnarvon, offshore, oil & gas, 4,800 Bo/d & 1.17 MMcfg/d.
- Santos, Pondrinie North 1, Cooper-Eromanga, onshore, gas, 2.7 MMcfg/d.
- Apache, North Harriet 1, Carnarvon, offshore, oil & gas, 6m oil & 2.7 gas.
- Apache, Gypsy North 1, Carnarvon, offshore, oil, 5,940 Bo/d.
Papua New Guinea
- Oil Search, Kimu 1, Fly River Platform, onshore, gas, 7.79 MMcfg/d.
Africa
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Angola
- Amoco, Platina 1, Lower Congo, deep, oil, 6,500 Bo/d.
- Amoco, Plutonio 1, Lower Congo, deep, oil, 5,700 Bo/d.
- Elf, Cravo 1, Congo Fan - L. Congo, deep, oil, 12,800 Bo/d.
- Elf, Tulipa 1, Congo Fan - L. Congo, deep, oil, 7,000 Bo/d.
- Esso, Chocalho 1, Congo Fan - L. Congo, deep, oil, 4,554 Bo/d.
- Esso, Xikomba 1, Lower Congo, deep, oil, 1,435 Bo/d.
Cameroon
- CMS NOMECO, M’via 1, Douala, oil, 1,090 Bo/d.
- Equatorial Guinea
- Triton, M’Bini 1, Rio Muni, deep, oil, 12,401 Bo/d.
Confirmation of a deep water discovery in Nigerian waters was announced in mid-December by Exxon Mobil. The appraisal well was in 3,860 feet of water, drilled to a total depth of 12,287 feet, and flowed 2,800 barrels of oil a day. Exxon Mobil said the company has interests in 44 deep water blocks in West Africa, with 15 discoveries announced in these blocks with a recoverable potential of six billion BOE.
SAHARAN AFRICA
Algeria
- LL&E, Menzel Ledjmet Central 1, Berkine, land, oil & gas, 7,936 Bo/d & 2,200 Mscf/d.
- LL&E, Menzel Ledjmet NW1, Berkine, land, oil & gas, 8,549 Bo/d & 12,600 Mscf/d.
- Sonatrach, Ben Kahla Est 1, Qued Mya, land, oil & gas, 3,650 Bo/d & 3,780 Mscf/d.
Egypt
- BG, Simian, Nile Delta, deep, gas, 44,000 Mscf/d.
- BG, WDDM-5, Nile Delta, deep, gas, 45,000 Mscf/d.
- DEMINEX, Idku North 1 ST 2, Nile Delta, Shelf, gas & condensate, 68,200 Mscf/d & 8,330 bc/d.
- IEOC, Ashrafi West (IEOC), Gulf of Suez, Shelf, oil & gas, 3,394 Bo/d & 11,281 Mscf/d.
- Khalda, Kahraman C-17, Shoushan, land, oil, 850 Bo/d.
Sudan
- GNPOC, Munga 1, Muglad, land, oil, 1,680 Bo/d.
Tunisia
- MOL, Sabria NW1, EL DJERID, land, oil & gas, 1,507 Bo/d & 3,261 Mscf/d.
Europe
United Kingdom
- Phillips, 30/7a-12 (Jemima), Central Trough, Shelf, oil & gas, 4,000 Bo/d & 42 MMscf/d.
- Shell, 21/24-6 (Clapham), Central Graben, Shelf, oil, 5,894 Bo/d.
Netherlands
- Elf, K/5-11, Anglo-Dutch Basin, Shelf, gas, 26.5 MMscf/d.
- Wintershall, A/15-3, Central Graben, Shelf, gas, 24 Mmscf/d.
Norway
- Phillips, 2/7-31 (Ebba), Central Graben, Shelf, oil & gas, 1,793 Bo/d & 4.2 MMscf/d.
Italy
- ENI SpA, Cerro Falcone 1 or B, Lagoneg. Nap., land, oil, 5,435 Bo/d.
Poland
- PGNG, Bratkowice 4, Car. Foredeep, land, gas, 3,661 Mscf/d.
- PGNG, Bronsko 1, NE-German, land, gas, 6,458 Mscf/d.
Romania
- Romgaz, Batusesti 302, Car. Foredeep, land, gas, 9, 535 Mscf/d.
- Romgaz, Gradistea Est 1, Car. Foredeep, land, gas, 2,472 Mscf/d.
Spain
- Repsol, Chipiron 1, Ebro Delta, Shelf, oil, 7,000 Bo/d.